


Why Soundwave's No Longer Allowed to Upgrade Himself

by NK (NKfloofiepoof)



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Crack, Gen, Humor, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-27
Updated: 2012-07-27
Packaged: 2017-11-10 19:54:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/470054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NKfloofiepoof/pseuds/NK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tentacles weren't designed for that, but okay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Why Soundwave's No Longer Allowed to Upgrade Himself

**Author's Note:**

> Camfield roped a bunch of us in [Shibara](http://shibara-ffnet.livejournal.com)'s Livestream into doing a prompt exchange. There were five of us total – one gave everyone a prompt, and the other four had 15 minutes to write something for it. Unfortunately, the 15-minute time limit was pretty strict – we could finish sentences, but we couldn't finish where were going with what we were writing, so these are all really rough and end rather abruptly.

Starscream _told_ Megatron letting Soundwave get an upgrade would be a bad idea. He _told_ Megatron that Soundwave would only use that opportunity to his advantage. Very few of the Decepticons had been allowed to upgrade themselves ever since they awoke on Earth, primarily out of lack of resources but also partly out of pride. Their first forms were perfect when they first awoke, and most of them were not willing to admit they were outdated, even Megatron. It was why Megatron’s altmode was still a handgun he couldn’t even fire on his own. Pride and stubbornness, nothing more.

But no, Soundwave insisted he needed an upgrade, and because Soundwave was such an annoyingly loyal little sycophant, Megatron agreed despite Starscream’s continual protests. Sure, Starscream would begrudgingly admit that Soundwave was definitely _the_ most out-of-date of all of them. Most humans didn’t even know what cassette players _were_ anymore, much less used them or carried them around. Still, it wasn’t like Soundwave was unable to get his job done - the Autobots’ humans were still ridiculously dimwitted and carted Soundwave into the Ark unwittingly about three times a week. Out-of-date and obsolete or no, Starscream insisted Soundwave _did not_ need or deserve an altmode upgrade when the rest of them had to go without.

But no. Megatron relented, and Soundwave got his wish.

At least Starscream could say “I told you so.” Even Megatron was beginning to think he should have put a limit to the kinds of altmodes Soundwave could choose. A car, a van, a tank - even an electric griddle would have been more reasonable. But a _satellite_? A satellite couldn’t blend in with the rest of the Decepticons on Earth, and a satellite _certainly_ couldn’t sneak into the Autobot base! But they couldn’t spare the resources for another upgrade – upgrade, downgrade, whatever – so Soundwave smugly let them question their wisdom in not restricting him.

And the others paid the price of Megatron’s foolishness.

“I swear, if those things touch me one more time, Soundwave...” Starscream snarled as he pulled his feet into his chair. Along the floor around his seat, Soundwave’s new, long appendages slithered from one console to the next. He insisted he needed to be able to hook up to every console he could with minimal movement on his part. That way, he could be even more efficient than before. He called them his new “data cables”. Everyone else called them his “extra, groping hands”.

“Query,” Soundwave mused as he lifted one of his tendrils to brush over Starscream’s wing. “Starscream will do what?”

With a pained screech not unlike the feedback of a wet microphone, Soundwave found out exactly what happened when he pushed Starscream too far. Tentacles were _not_ meant to bend that way, nor were they meant to be tied into knots with one another and then tied around Megatron’s throne.

Especially not with Megatron still in it.

Megatron, for his part, simply twitched and made odd, grunting noises as he tried in vain to figure out if he wanted to scream, laugh, or cry while Soundwave tried desperately to unknot his new appendages and ignore how much it hurt doing so.

Starscream simply unleashed a screeching series of, “I _told_ you so!” Nobody was sure who it was directed toward. Nobody cared.


End file.
